The drafting of joint consent orders given go-ahead
A change in the law will allow the drafting of a Consent Order to be done by one person. Before the change in the law, 2 solicitors each representing their own party were required to negotiate and then draft a Consent Order.
A recent case in the Family Court has allowed lawyers and others to act for both parties in drafting consensual family court documents. It was declared that there was no conflict-of-interest for an online service to act for both parties in the drafting of a financial consent order under the terms of its business model.
For a divorcing couple who want to amicably split their assets and move on with their lives, this proved to be expensive and over complicated. They would both need to employ their own solicitor to basically draft an agreement that both parties could come to themselves.
Using one person to help both parties will dramatically reduce the cost and time taken to create the order.
This is great news for divorcing couples who require financial arrangements approved by the courts. They will no longer need to go through process of each employing a solicitor.
If at any time one party feels they no longer feel the process is working for them, then they can instruct a solicitor.
There are so many people who choose not to get a Consent Order because of the price. They then leave themselves wide open to financial claims from their ex in the future. Should they come into a sum of money or property, an ex spouse may be entitled to a percentage of it if you do not have a Consent Order. A Consent Order protects each party from the other making a claim in the future,
Without a Consent Order, the courts will allow a claim against the ex spouse to be made. This can be very distressing to the party to pass some of their assets to their ex spouse.
Carol Sullivan, Managing Director at Divorce Negotiator, said "This court ruling is wonderful news for divorcing couples who want to divide their assets amicably with as less stress and expense as possible. Divorce Negotiator Ltd provide a Consent Order drafting service for both couples and individuals. "